


Delayed Reaction

by gayclubanthem



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: F/M, birthday fic, it's just a short little weird thing i wrote but i'm kinda proud of it so here ya go, no names mentioned, sort of like an imagine in third person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-31
Updated: 2014-07-31
Packaged: 2018-02-11 04:34:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2053773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayclubanthem/pseuds/gayclubanthem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Luke doesn't realize he's in love with her until she moves back to her hometown in Michigan and he's left in California wondering what the fuck happened.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Delayed Reaction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sofarsoperfect](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sofarsoperfect/gifts).



> i wrote this for my very good friend [aliera](http://sofarsoperfect.tumblr.com) on her 18th birthday and i liked the way it turned out so i decided to post it here. 
> 
> it's nothing special but i hope you like it. :3

Luke doesn't realize he's in love with her until she moves back to her hometown in Michigan and he's left in California wondering what the fuck happened. 

They were neighbors in the tiny apartment complex just around the corner from a little coffee shop they frequented once they started talking. She moved in first, just out of college with a two year degree and a nearly empty bank account. Then, two weeks later, Luke moved in with his mate, Michael, both fresh off a plane from Australia and both with school visas to last them four years. They all exchanged polite smiles in the hall and a few awkward conversations when the mail got mixed up but it took months for them to start properly talking. Michael worked on top of school to pay their rent, so she didn't see much of him, but Luke stayed at home writing music for his composition class and studying his brains out for his stupid Chemistry exams while old Green Day blasted through the thin walls, not that she minded. Eventually, they all became friends. She found a job at a record store a few blocks away, and Luke visited her nearly every day after class just to bring her coffee and a smile. Life for her was comfortable and happy. She had two amazing friends and a decent job that would keep her occupied until she could afford school again. Her apartment was small but comfortable, decorated to her tastes and inexplicably hers. 

  

But two years into their comfortable routine and she gets a call from her sister that her father is sick, and they didn't have a perfect relationship with him but she wants to be there for him while he recovers. And he will recover. That's what Luke and Michael tell her, over and over again while she panics in her bedroom, throwing clothes into a duffle bag and nearly forgetting underwear all together. On the phone, her sister had managed to keep her voice grounded, but that had never stopped her from worrying. She always worries. Luke likes to tease her about it. 

Luke isn't teasing now. Luke tells Michael to leave when it's clear he's only making her feel worse. She loves Michael, but he's not what she needs right now. As the door closes behind him, she folds into Luke's arms. She's not crying, but her breaths are uneven and her eyes sting. He holds her until she feels human again.

And in the next five hours, she's gone. She tells him she'll be in touch, but she'll be gone for a while. Luke doesn't know what that means. When he gets back to his shared apartment, Michael looks like a lost puppy and Luke finds himself comforting yet again when, in fact, he needs comfort too. 

Two days pass before he gets a text saying _i'm home. just need time. they think he's going to be fine. x_

It's then that he realizes. 

His chest aches in a way it's never ever ached before, not even when his mum gave him a tearful hug as he got on his plane to America. There's a hole in his heart and it's shaped like her. There isn't any music wafting from her apartment into theirs at odd hours of the night. A new girl has temporarily replaced her at the record store. Their coffee shop smells different and there's more people than he ever remembers there being and for some reason their table in the corner is always occupied. School is awful, Michael is always gone. Luke feels alone. He realizes then, that he's in love with her.

She texts him updates sometimes. Once or twice a week. But she's away from her phone most of the time and Luke doesn't feel right sending her random facts about his day like he used to. He channels them to Michael, but he can tell Michael doesn't appreciate them the same way.

A month and a half later something changes. Luke comes home from his only class of the day around noon and when he opens the door he hears it right away. From the next room, music is playing. He can't tell what it is, but it's there and it's playing and for a horrifying moment Luke wonders if their landlord rented out her apartment even though she paid him three months in advance. Dropping his bag to the floor, he backtracks and knocks on the door directly beside his and Michael's. When the heavy wood opens, Luke feels his insides fill up with helium.

It's her.

Before Luke can stop himself, he swoops down to her height, pressing his lips to hers. His hands find her waist, pulling her closer. Honestly, Luke can't remember what it was like to not want her this way. A moment passes before she responds, hands curling around his elbows and face lifting to an easier angle. They fall into a proper kiss as if they'd had years of practice. When they pull away from each other, she smiles, eyes shining and laugh bubbling from her chest.

"Missed you," he manages, and he can hear the lovesick tone dripping from his voice but he doesn't care. 

"Missed you, too," she replies.

"Is your dad okay?" he asks, suddenly remembering the reason she left in the first place. His heart constricts momentarily, but her smile only grows as she nods.

"He's fine now. And I'm back. Um. Obviously," and she's giggling, light and so precious. Luke feels his own grin widen until his cheeks hurt.

He hadn't realized he loved her until she left. But she came back.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr at [mattfinchbum](http://gayclubanthem.co.vu) xx


End file.
